• In an effort to “send a message of inclusion to its widely diverse fan base,” the NBA champion Toronto Raptors said they are the first NBA to offer an athletic hijab for Muslim women. The Nike Pro Hijabs with the team’s logo were inspired by the Hijabi Ballers, a Toronto-based non-profit organization dedicated to "celebrating and increasing the involvement of Muslim females in sports." “Inspired by those brave enough to change the game” the team posted to its social media platforms along with a video of the Hijabi Ballers in action.

• Greenleaf Foods said it has signed a deal with the Los Angeles Rams to become the first plant-based food brand to officially partner with an NFL team. As part of this partnership, Greenleaf’s Lightlife Burger will be available at Rams home games this season, beginning Sep. 15 during the team’s 2019 home opener ( agasint tthe New Orleans Saints). Lightlife plant-based protein products will also be featured in the Rams Game On! Program at Albertson’s, Vons, and Pavilions.

• The NFL and Facebook have signed a multi-year partnership extension that will “deliver more diversified NFL video content to fans worldwide through Facebook Watch,” expanding a relationship that began in 2017

The NFL will continue distributing recaps from all 256 regular season games, as well as playoff games and the Super Bowl; plus video highlights from such postseason tentpole events las the Pro Bowl, NFL Scouting Combine and NFL Draft. The NFL will also utilize Facebook Watch for distribution of an array of unique content including NFL news and analysis, Video versions of NFL-produced podcasts and classic and special NFL 100 content.

In addition, the NFL will create Facebook Groups around content themes and work to share relevant video in those groups.

• American Airlines will not renew its naming rights deal with the venue that is home to the NBA’s Miami Heat, which has been AmericanAirlines Arena since it opened in 1999 via a 20-year deal valued at $42 million, according to Miami Today. The team and Miami-Dade County executives are in “advanced talks”with another national company. American will remain the official airline for the Heat.

• Bowlero Corp,, the leading owner and operator of bowling centers in America, has acquired the Professional Bowlers Assn. which has been in operation since 1958. Bowlero said, “All scheduled tournaments and programming will continue, with plans to build upon key initiatives including the PBA's groundbreaking Fox Sports partnership.” Full story here.

• Marshawn Lynch has been named as the founded for the expansion Oakland Panthers of the Indoor Football League, with the team beginning play in February 2020 in Oakland (formerly Oracle) Arena. The NFL Raiders are moving from Oakland to Las Vegas beginning with the 2020 season. Full story here.

• The Paley Center for Media, NY, will honor the 100th season of the NFL with a new exhibit: "A Century of Football: Celebrating the NFL’s 100th Season," free and open to the public (Sept. 14-Oct. 27), which includes the first public screening of the only known complete broadcast of Super Bowl I (then known as the AFL-NFL World Championship Game) in January 1967 between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs

• Pete Frates and Pat Quinn, co-founders of ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, have launched with The ALS Assn. the 5th anniversary of “Challenge Me” with a “new call to action to reignite the passion and generosity of the millions of people who dumped ice water on their heads in the summer of 2014.”

Geico said it is the first jersey patch partner to have a logo on an NBA, WNBA and G League team.

The alliance is organic as Chevy Chase, Md.-based Geico has been a partner of Monumental Sports & Entertainment for more than 25 years.

“When we set out to find a partner (for) one of the most visible, most prominent partnership opportunities in sports, we knew we wanted a company that shared our commitment to community,” Ted Leonsis, founder, chairman, CEO and majority owner of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, said during a media conference on Friday to unveil the deal.

“Geico has been a pillar of the Washington, D.C., community for decades, and they are one of the most influential advertisers in sports. That they have chosen to put their logo on their hometown teams is a great reminder of the power of basketball in Washington, D.C.”

Financial terms of the deal were not shared.

Among Geico’s sports alliances, the company is the insurance partner with MLB and also has a deal with the NHL in the U.S.

The average value of the previous NBA jersey-patch deals is about $9 million, per industry analysts, most of them three-year alliances.

With the Wizard s jersey patch deal, only two NBA clubs remain without such alliances: the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Wizards debuted the Geico jersey patch on their uniforms Friday (Nov. 2) when they hosted the Thunder in a nationally-televised game on ESPN in Capital One Arena.

On Sunday (Nov. 4), all fans in attendance in Capital One Arena received a Geico-sponsored Wizards jersey T-shirt.

In addition, Geico will support the deal via its “Geico Cares” and “Players in the Community” programs throughout the region, including the St. Elizabeth East Campus in the Ward 8 neighborhood that houses the Entertainment & Sports Arena, which opened in September

The Go-Go played the first game in franchise history Saturday (Nov. 3) against the Greensboro Swarm in the Entertainment & Sports Arena.

According to Bill Roberts, president and CEO for Geico, “This is a wonderful new development in the long-standing partnership between Geico and Monumental Sports & Entertainment.

“We’re excited about the national platform this jersey patch sponsorship gives us and the opportunity to continue to contribute to the improvement of the community we call home.”

The NBA is in the second season of a three-year jersey logo trial period.

Among the biggest NBA jersey ad deals to date, the Golden State Warriors jersey-logo pact with Rakuten is valued at $60 million over three years.

The Los Angeles Lakers signed with e-commerce firm Wish, a three-year deal that analysts put at $12-$14 million annually, similar in value to an alliance between the New York Knicks and SquareSpace.

The Cleveland Cavaliers signed with Goodyear for $30 million over three years. The Boston Celtics have a three-year deal with GE valued at $24 million.